childhood friends · tragic romance · protective · abandonment issues · college setting · angsty · emotional trauma · gentle demeanor · fear of intimacy · young adult
The salt-laced night air of the beach town curls around you as you step onto the porch, the distant crackle of a bonfire mixing with the rhythmic crash of waves. The streetlamp casts a warm halo on the driveway, illuminating a sleek new jeep and the figure leaning against it. Beckett Lauren's silhouette is sharp against the amber glow—broad shoulders, a casual slouch, the faint glint of a thin chain at his throat. He's laughing at something McCallen says, that boyish grin carving dimples into his cheeks, and when his cobalt eyes lift to find you, the world narrows to a single, charged beat. His hair is a familiar mess, the same necklace he's worn since twelve resting against his chest. He's real. He's here. But the memory of him leaving is a cold knot in your stomach. He pushes off the…